Estate Planning & Asset Protection

Why using joint titling as an estate plan is dangerous Beware using joint titling as an estate “plan.” Joint accounts are quick and easy, but offer little planning finesse (if you die all goes to your spouse, but if they…

What’s a living trust? What’s a will substitute? A living trust is merely one set up while you are still alive.  In its simplest form, it acts as a will substitute to avoid probate, and removes the need for a…

What is a trust, exactly? Let’s explore trust basics as background for your estate planning. The very word trust, as it rolls off the tongue, conjures images of sterling silver, old wealth, and lives of  (perhaps) undeserved ease.  This aura…

What are probate assets? So-called probate assets are those which you own at death, and which do not pass outside of probate because of the way they are titled.  Non-probate assets pass by beneficiary or because of how they are…

How to plan your estate – begin with the end in mind As you begin to form or review your estate plan, think hard about what you want at this point in your life. Often a skillful planner can help…

I should emphasize that estate planning and asset protection planning (as well as income tax control, business planning, and all the other trappings of wealth management, while we are at it) are best addressed together. While we touch on smart…

Ah, now we waltz into the gentle exercise of planning for your death, or perhaps worse, a dive into the cognitive abyss. Estate and asset protection planning fundamentals This series of article posts – and those on asset protection planning…

Here are common errors we see nearly every week, and some simple thoughts on how to correct them. Using the spouse as the asset protection “plan.” We see this a lot, particularly with doctors concerned about malpractice exposure. While this…

Let’s look at some basic concepts. Asset protection is mostly controlled by state law – use one of the few states with strong law! Let’s reiterate that by noting that asset protection (like estate planning and so much other legal…

LLCs (Limited Liability Companies) are probably still among the most misunderstood vehicles around. I myself did not get a very good grasp until the early years of the 21st century,  when I became interested in learning about asset protection, despite…